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Most neurons excite other neurons, but the brain also contains a huge variety of inhibitory nerve cells, the so-called interneurons. The advent of optogenetics and in vivo microscopy has facilitated the study of their function, and it is becoming clear how the different types of interneurons regulate the information flow in the brain and how they control learning processes. What has also become apparent is that the cause of many brain disorders must be sought in dysfunctioning interneurons.

During this Summer School, which takes place in the old center of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, international experts working at the forefront of these new developments will be sharing this newly acquired knowledge – as yet unavailable in textbooks - with a new generation of researchers. By comparing the role of interneurons in different brain areas, we hope to come to new insights. Graduate students and more senior researchers are invited to attend and participate.

We have an ambitious program, with up to five lectures per day of over an hour each, in which international experts provide an overview of the current state of affairs. We have chosen to focus on the role of interneurons in five key areas of the brain: the cerebral cortex, the hippocampus, the retina, the thalamus and the cerebellum. The first four days will deal with the development, anatomy and physiology, neuronal circuits, in vivo function, and information processing of interneurons. The last day will be devoted to their role in brain disease and disorder.